Twelve Days of Howl and Sophie
by oursolemnhour49
Summary: Christmas is fast approaching on every world bringing tidings of comfort and joy- or in the case of Howl and Sophie, arguments, fear of birds, magical explosions, and angry fairies. Takes place after "Howl's Moving Castle." Based on the book. COMPLETE.
1. A Silver Partridge

**This is the beginning of a series of connected one-shots I'm writing for a friend as a Christmas present. I wanted to try and get them posted before Christmas so I can get some feedback and make improvements before I put them together... so show the review button some love XD And as I said in the summary, these are based on the book, rather than the movie.**

**I don't own anything related to Howl's Moving Castle.**

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_On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree._

Sophie knew that she should have gotten used to strange things coming from Howl's workbench. She'd had quite a bit of time to get used to such things; they came with the wizard. You married him, you married the possibility of having strange glittering powder blown all over the room and having green slime on your walls. Though, Sophie reflected grimly, if he pulled another tantrum like the legendary slime fiasco, he was going to be sleeping in the living room for some time to come.

But when she heard a clanging sound followed by a triumphant shout of "Yes! It's finally done!" she felt compelled to get up and investigate.

Howl was looking proudly at the silver figurine of a plump bird with a small head and sharp tail. It shone very brightly in the light from Calcifer's fireplace, and the eyes in particular almost glittered. Sophie came up behind him and stared at it for a moment.

"What do you think, Sophie?" her husband asked without turning around. "It took me long enough, but I think it's actually a good bit of work. And I don't care if saying so makes me sound vain," he added loftily.

"Not that that's stopped you before," Sophie said with a smile. "But Howl, what's the point of a silver bird? Or is that silver? It looks like it- but why would you spend so much time making something that complicated out of silver?"

"It's a commission. For some lord or another down in Kingsbury. He's taken into his head that he's going to surprise his wife with it for Christmas."

Sophie blinked. "What does she want with a gigantic silver bird on Christmas?"

"How should I know? I didn't even want to make the thing, but he was paying me enough, heaven knows, so I thought I might as well make it."

Gingerly Sophie reached out to touch it. "Looks like you could be alive," she muttered. Just as her finger touched the bird, it squawked and ruffled its feathers indignantly. The shining eyes gleamed much more brightly than they had seconds before and the feathers, which had been slight streaks in the silver, were now very sharply defined and one had fallen off onto the table.

Howl groaned. "Sophie!"

"I'm not good at this yet!" his wife exclaimed defensively. "Maybe if you actually showed me how to use the magic I've got instead of making silver birds this wouldn't happen!"

For a moment they stared at the bird, which was hopping about the bench and smashing some of Howl's glass bottles with its tail. A crackle of laughing sparks came from the fire place where Calcifer was watching, and Howl glared at him for a moment. "What am I going to do with it?" he asked dolefully. "I have to start again."

Sophie shrugged. "Why don't we keep it?"

"Keep it? Look what it's doing to my work bench! And it's all your fault!"

"You're the one who keeps slithering out of teaching me how to work the magic I have!"

"And look what it's done to my ground mandrakes!" Howl wailed. "Sophie, stop this thing!"

"You're slithering out again!"

"Sophie, it's destroying everything on the table and the more you let it go on, the more you'll have to clean!"

"Oh, you wouldn't do that, would you?" Sophie cooed to the bird, completely ignoring Howl. "You know what I'm like when I clean. But you know- Howl's been refusing to teach me magic for quite a while now…"

"I have not refused!"

"All right, he just hasn't answered whenever I asked- for the past two months. And we've been married for three." She paused. "If there's anything you can do to convince him to help me- actually say he'll help me, I'll make sure you can stay with me."

The bird cocked its head to the side and hopped to the center of the workbench, looking around the room as though find the best angle of attack. Then it stared up at Howl for a moment, who returned the look suspiciously. Then to both Howl and Sophie's surprise, it sprang up and fluttered off to the bedroom. Howl ducked and then ran after it, shouting abuse that would have ruffled the feathers of any bird not made of silver. But the silver partridge ignored Howl completely and made its way to the pile of neatly folded clothes on Howl's dresser. On top was the charmed suit to catch the eye of unsuspecting women. It was Howl's pride and joy and both he and Sophie knew it.

Howl skidded to a halt as if his next step would cause something to explode, and Sophie thudded into his back. Peering around his shoulder, she saw the bird look thoughtfully at the suits. Then it hopped to the top of the pile.

"Don't." Howl's voice was menacing. "Don't you- NO! Not the suit!"

He stomped forward. Sophie saw the bird standing over a pile of silvery goo that was nestling comfortably on top of the black suit. The partridge gave her a satisfied look and began preening its feathers without the slightest regard for Howl's furious face. "Bird droppings!" he wailed. "_Silver_ bird droppings on my suit!"

Sophie bit back a giggle and Howl threw his hands in the air. "Very well! Fine! I give up. I'll teach you all I can about controlling your magic, if only to keep catastrophes like this from happening ever again." He glared at the bird and swatted it hard, only to roar in pain. The partridge was silver, after all.

"Come on," Sophie said, both to the partridge and her furious husband. She held the door open to allow the partridge to hop back to the living room, where it immediately settled down in front of the fireplace looking quite pleased with itself. Howl followed and sat down at the workbench with a glare that would have sent most people scuttling for cover. But Sophie was not most people and she dropped beside him. "I'll help you make another," she said with a grin. "Tell me what I have to do."

"With the damage you've already done just looking, you want to help?" But his mouth was beginning to twitch into a smile, and so Sophie took the opportunity to give him a kiss before he went back to charming more silver. This time she was paying more attention and was able to hold back a remark about how the bird looked ready to start flying around the room. And the partridge watched them both from the fireplace, its dozy silver eyes occasionally flickering from the fire demon's flames.


	2. Nesting Doves

_On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me two turtledoves…_

Sophie hadn't realized it until the silver partridge had decided that it was there to stay. But now that it had been in the castle for a day, she was sure.

Howl did not like birds.

She could see it in the glares he threw at the partridge every time he came into the living room or walked past the fireplace. At first she had thought that the looks were directed from annoyance at the damage done to his favorite suit, but from the way he jumped a little every time the silver bird twitched, she began to guess there was more to it than that. When she caught him staring at the partridge over a book that had remained on the same page for nearly ten minutes, she realized that there was a deeper problem than resentment over ruined clothing.

So for the next few hours she tried to think of something that would help her husband get over his dislike without making the problem worse. Unfortunately whenever she tried to get him to talk about just why he disliked birds, he would immediately dodge the question and talk about how Christmas was coming soon and how he had to decorate his various houses. Try as she might, Sophie could not pin him down to anything.

That evening Howl made a last-minute call to one of the poorer families in Porthaven whose children had requested snow, and Sophie immediately took the opportunity to interrogate Calcifer. "Why doesn't Howl like birds?" she demanded. "The one on the fireplace isn't even a real bird; it's made of silver and it doesn't do very much other than sit in front of the fire."

"How should I know?" the fire demon replied. "His constant glaring is getting annoying, but I don't have any idea what it's about. You're his wife. Shouldn't you know that?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out, aren't I?"

"You could talk to Michael," said Calcifer. "He's known Howl quite a bit. He might know about why Howl doesn't like birds."

"I guess I'll have to when he comes back from visiting Martha," Sophie said thoughtfully. She stroked the silver partridge's feathers, which were very warm from the heat of the fire. "He's got to get over it at some point," she went on, thinking of Howl. "He's a wizard- he really shouldn't be scared of birds!"

"He's also an admitted coward," Calcifer pointed out. "And it doesn't seem to me that he's scared of birds as much as he just doesn't like them."

"But why? He deals with explosions and spells and witches and sprites and all sorts of things. So why dislike birds?"

Calcifer's brightly colored flames sprang upwards from the logs, almost as if the fire demon was shrugging. "I don't know. Why not?"

His flames grew a deeper shade of blue as he looked more closely at Sophie. "Oh dear. Don't tell me that you're…"

"Going to figure out why he doesn't like birds? Yes, I am."

"If you're going to try and mold him into getting over it, then I won't answer for the mess that'll follow."

"I never said I was going to try to help him get rid of it, I just want to figure out why he doesn't like them. Getting over it comes later."

Calcifer sighed and just as he did so the Market Chipping door opened to let in both Michael and a flurry of snowflakes. Sophie jumped to her feet. "How was Martha?"

"She's doing well," Howl's apprentice replied. He was nearly at the end of his tenure as apprentice and Sophie had the feeling that as soon as he had gotten on his own feet, she would have to expect an announcement of some sort from him and her sister, who he'd been seeing for some time now.

Sophie glanced at the puddles of water he was tracking in and remembered what Howl had told her about concentrating on what she wanted her spell to do. "Come on," she said cajolingly to the water. "Gather up and get back into snow. Don't leave a mess like that."

Reluctantly the water clumped and crystallized back into white snow, which Sophie kicked out the door before turning to Michael. "You've known Howl for quite a while, haven't you?" she asked. "Do you know why he doesn't like birds?"

"He doesn't like birds?"

"No. He's been watching the partridge like he expects it to blow up or something."

"Well, for all he knows it might," Michael said reasonably. "You're still not used to doing magic yet and you made that come to life by accident."

"Which might not have happened if he'd agreed to teach me sooner," Sophie grumbled. She leaned against the door, trying to think. "So you don't have any idea why he wouldn't like birds?"

Michael shook his head. "I thought it was just the partridge he didn't like."

"Hm." Sophie turned back to the door and opened it a crack. Snow blanketed the meadow above Market Chipping. It was a very still landscape and the endless white only seemed to make the silence loud. Then Sophie heard the sound of birds cooing softly. She darted outside, and by craning her neck was able to see one of the tiny chimneys that looked like it had been slapped haphazardly onto the building. In the corner just where the chimney met the main building was a tiny nest. Sophie saw two grey heads poking out the top, and couldn't help but smile. The doves might the means to figuring out what was the matter with her husband.

"What are you looking at?" Howl's head suddenly appeared at the door. "I got back a minute ago and Calcifer's been complaining non-stop the entire time about the wind and the door being open."

"Just at those doves." Sophie pointed toward the two birds. This, she thought, should prove conclusively whether or not Howl just resented the partridge or disliked birds in general.

Her husband's face broke into a scowl. "Why are they there? Surely there are other places to nest."

"In the middle of winter above Market Chipping?"

"Well, why don't they go down there? It's much warmer, not to mention there's more food!"

"What's the matter with them being here?"

"They'll get bird droppings all over the castle! And they're always watching you when you leave, and you never know whether or not they're going to stay where they are or fly away."

"Most birds don't like coming near people," Sophie pointed out.

Howl faltered a moment. "But I'm not a normal person! What if they decide they can't resist my charm and start flying after me?"

"You're a wizard and you're telling me you couldn't handle birds flying at you?"

"Of course not! But that doesn't mean I want it to happen! Can't you tell them to go down to Market Chipping?"

"Why? They look comfortable there, and I think they look sweet."

"You would," Howl muttered. "Anything that's guaranteed to be difficult will be certain to give you delight."

Sophie was about to snap back when the castle gave a lurch and rumbled off across the meadow, trailing smoke into the clear sky. Both she and Howl dashed after it. Howl was barely able to get a leg up to the door and Sophie had to grab his hand just to keep up. Eventually, by dint of Howl clinging to the doorframe and Sophie jumping as high as she could while running, they were able to get back on the steps and back through door.

Both of them glared at Calcifer, who smirked back at them from deep within the fireplace. "Let that teach you to leave the door open," the fire demon said smugly.

Howl tried to straighten his robes with as much dignity as possible. Sophie glared at the fire demon a moment longer, but her heart wasn't truly in it. If Howl hated birds so much that he wanted to throw them out of their nests in the middle of winter, there had to be a story behind it, and it was one she wanted to know.


	3. Howl and Hens

_On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me three French hens..._

Under normal circumstances, Sophie could come up with any number of reasons to avoid seeing Howl's sister. The castle was falling to bits and had to be fixed. Michael might mix up two different spells and turn the rug into molten lava. The king himself was calling for aid. Anything would do. Howl's world confused Sophie, and his sister, who always looked at Sophie as though she might contaminate passerby, had not made her eager to go back.

But she was determined to find out what had made Howl dislike birds so intensely. And so when he came staggering from his bedroom buried under boxes wrapped in bright paper and ribbon for his nephews and nieces, she agreed to help him deliver the things. Surely the man's sister would know why he looked disposed to chase out a pair of harmless doves that had taken residence in the castle.

When they came through the door of the yellow house, she was struck by the difference in the snow in this land. In her own world, the snowflakes were large and soft. They took their time in getting to the ground. Here it felt like tiny bits of ice were being flung at her face. The stuff falling from the sky felt like cold sand, and not even the scarf that had somehow appeared around her neck courtesy of Howl could keep them off. Howl himself was already several feet ahead of her past the gate and she hurried to keep up with him.

They reached Megan's house accompanied by a blast of wind that seemed to throw them in the door the minute Howl's sister opened it. She looked a little annoyed at their unceremonious entrance, but hardly surprised. Sophie guessed that Howl did something like this every year at Christmas time. From the living room came a shriek as Howl's niece Mari came barreling into the room at top speed. "Uncle Howell! Aunt Sophie!"

Howell scooped her up and swung her around. "Mari! So tell me, I have to know- are you tall enough to put the star on the Christmas tree yet."

The little girl pouted. "No. I could be if someone lifted me up."

"You know it's your brother's turn to do that this year," her mother said from the table where she was stacking up the packages Howl had brought. Sophie laid her own packages on the table and covertly studied her sister-in-law. Megan seemed much more tired than usual, but her voice had less bite than it normally held when it came to her brother, and once or twice she seemed about to smile. "Sophie, I'm so sorry, but could you help me carry these up?" she asked politely as Howl was dragged off the living room by his niece, who was describing the Christmas tree at top volume. "We're hiding all the presents in our room for safety's sake till Christmas."

Sophie scooped up her packages again, while Megan grabbed those Howl had brought. They went up the narrow staircase again, and Sophie found herself hard-pressed to keep from staring. This house had never made much sense to her; the walls were far too smooth and the pictures themselves were odd to someone who was used to seeing runes scribbled over any available inch of plaster. But she followed Megan up to the largest bedroom, which was almost entirely filled up by the bed. Boxes were everywhere. Sophie followed Megan's instructions to set her gifts right in front of the closet door and took a step back as Megan did the same with her packages.

For a moment they both stood still. It was a difficult silence for Sophie, since neither she nor Megan had made much of an effort to get to know each other and now she was left scrabbling for a topic that would not annoy her sister-in-law. Beside her Megan cleared her throat slightly and Sophie had a feeling that she felt the same sort of awkwardness.

Finally they both began to talk at the same time, stopped, apologized at the same time, and then stopped again. Sophie immediately took advantage of the sudden quiet to start the conversation with less stumbling. "Does Howl do this every year?" she asked. "He's been working like a maniac for the past few days to get these presents together." At least that was what Sophie had assumed he had been doing, given the amount of clinks, crashes, and curses that had come from his workbench.

Megan smiled a little, even though she looked somewhat exasperated. "Yes. He does this almost every year- really it's the only time I see him actually working hard."

Sophie had to bite her tongue to keep from snapping at that, reminding herself that this probably was the only time Megan would witness Howl at work. In any case, it was Christmas, and she did not want to start a fight within five minutes of coming to the house. "I think he enjoys Christmas, you know. Even if it makes him as snappish as an old dog."

"I think I can understand it," Megan said dryly. "And unlike us, Howl doesn't even have to cook and get everything on the table. But I still like Christmas."

They came downstairs and barely avoided being run over by Howl's nephew, who came barreling through the front door covered with snow. Sophie whirled out of the way. She was suddenly feeling very glad that Fanny had invited her and Howl and Martha back to her house for Christmas. She was not sure that she would have enjoyed making an entire Christmas dinner for just two people. It would be so hard to get the sizes right without being wasteful.

Beside her Megan sighed and grabbed a towel that hung on a coatrack to mop up the snow. Sophie was tempted to use her magic to get it cleaned, but remembered that Megan was uncomfortable with almost everything magic-related. She probably would not enjoy seeing the snow sweep itself into piles to be kicked out the door.

So she instead accompanied Megan back to the kitchen and asked if there was anything she could do to help. Megan gave her a small smile but assured her that there was nothing she needed to do and made a rather pointed comment on the fun her children seemed to having as they played in the living room. Sophie normally would have much preferred to spend the time with Mari and Neil, but she had to ask about Howl. "I have a question for you, Megan," she said quickly. She took a deep breath, for her sister-in-law had already begun to get the hard look in her eyes that made any and every question seem unimportant. "Does Howl not like birds? We had a pair of doves nesting near one of- I mean, near our chimney, and he looked he wanted to send the poor things on a long migration. Is he just afraid of them, or is it just that he doesn't like them?"

Megan stared in astonishment before breaking into laughter. "I don't know why he'd react that way to doves, but he hasn't ever really liked birds since when he was little. Our father used to have a hen house and he usually had me go and get the eggs, since Howell never liked to. But I was sick one morning, so our dad made him go. The next thing we knew we heard screams coming from the chicken coop because they all had decided to roost on Howell's head and arms for some reason. They were quite attached to him," she went on, still laughing, "and my father had a hard time getting them to come down. Howell was only nine or ten at the time, and I guess he just never forgot it. I had no idea the dislike stuck with him, though. I'll have to remember that."

"Don't!" Sophie said hurriedly. "That is- well- I'm trying to help him get over it. I don't know how well it's going, but I'd rather it not be messed u- disrupted."

Megan's smile faltered a little. "Of course. Sorry. I'm sure you'll do just fine helping him get over it." Even though you've only been married to him for a few months and I've known him all his life, her eyes seemed to add. Sophie felt her face turning red, and was very relieved when Mari came bursting into the room to demand that she play hide-and-seek. On the whole she was a much better aunt than she could ever be a sister-in-law.

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**Yeah, I know... this was kind of short. I promise more exciting things happen later. Really. At least I think so.  
**


	4. Robins and Running Away

_On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me four calling birds…_

After Sophie and Howl returned from Megan's, Howl threw himself onto the chair in front of the fireplace with a dramatic sigh. "Nephews! And a niece! If my hair grows grey or turns spontaneously white, it'll be their fault."

"I don't think your hair would have much of a chance against your vanity. You dye it about a hundred times as often as they get the chance to turn it grey."

"You wound me, Sophie. Attention to appearance isn't vanity."

She laughed. "When you spend two hours in the bathroom coordinating the color of your earrings with your suit, I think it counts as vanity."

"That's attention to detail! I take pride in looking my best!"

"No, you take pride in seeing people- especially women, stare longingly at you as you walk down a street."

"Are you implying I'm a philanderer, Sophie? When you know that you're the only woman who's ever meant anything to me?"

Calcifer flared a little in the confines of the fireplace and his small mouth curved up into a wicked smile. "Ah yes, the 'only woman' line. I believe you used that on Katrina from Norland, Adele of Kingsbury, Lettie Hatter of Market Chipping, Miss Angoria of…"

"Shut up!" Howl snapped, his face turning red. "Did I marry any of them? No! So keep out of this, you moldy excuse for an ember!"

"Hardly language you should use to the person who keeps your castle moving," the fire demon replied. "If I was in the mood, I could crash the whole castle- or turn it into a birdhouse for all the birds in Ingary."

"If you do, I'll make sure that you have to take a long seaside vacation in a beach fire where there are high tides," Howl snapped. "And I'll bet anything Sophie put you up to saying that."

"I didn't put him up to anything," Sophie said calmly. "But I am curious about why the thought of the castle being turned into a birdhouse would make you want to throw Calcifer by the sea."

"Oh, as if you don't know already." Howl leaned back and closed his eyes with all the appearance of a put-upon saint. It would have been a better impression if he had looked less comfortable in the armchair. "I heard you asking my sister about why I didn't like birds."

"Then you probably can guess what I'm going to say."

"I wouldn't dare try."

Sophie scowled and sat in front of the fireplace by the silver partridge as though it was an ally. "I was going to say that it's silly to blame all birds for some hens acting strange twenty years ago."

"Well, that's milder than I expected," Howl said, sounding surprised. "But saying that doesn't do any good. I found out long ago that the entire species of birds is opposed and bent on hating me, and I've come to accept that."

"Rubbish." Sophie jumped to her feet. "You're just too scared of them to actually face up to them."

Howl looked at her with something like alarm. "Are you seriously going to propose that I confront my fear- I mean, hatred- of birds right now?"

"Why not?"

"It's the middle of winter! And it doesn't affect anything about me, so why make it a bother now?"

"What if you're going up against a witch who figures out your worst fear is a bird? What are you going to do if she decides to attack from that angle?"

"She already has," Howl muttered, and Calcifer gave a crackling laugh.

Sophie glared at them both. "Be serious, Howl! If I talked a few birds into coming into the castle, do you think you could face them without running away?"

Howl faltered for a fraction of a second before giving her a very charming smile. "Actually, now that I think about it, Michael asked me to go down to Market Chipping and get him some new gloves." He sprang to his feet and grabbed his swirling cloak.

Sophie gaped at him. "You aren't even trying to be subtle about sneaking off this time! Admit it! You're terrified of birds!"

He whirled up very close to her and clasped both her hands to his chest dramatically. "Is there anything you need, my dearest Sophie?"

"What? No- well- oh, shut up and give me a minute," she stammered. Whenever Howl turned on his gallant charm, she had a difficult time deciding whether to be annoyed at or laugh at him, and this instance was no different. "I need some wooden bowls and spoons," she said at last. "For Martha's present. Lately she's been experimenting with baking. So if you're going to hide down there…"

As soon as the words 'hide down there' passed her lips, Howl stopped them by kissing her and spinning away with a twirl of his cape. Sophie rolled her eyes and sank down in the chair he had vacated. She was absolutely determined to get him to face up to the bird fear now that he seemed all the more determined to run away from it. And though a small part of herself wondered whether she was being unreasonable, she brushed it away. It couldn't hurt anything if she tried, just once, to get Howl to face his fear.

She stood up and Calcifer immediately made one of the burning logs snap. "Whatever you're going to do, it's probably best not," the fire demon said dryly. "It doesn't matter if he doesn't like birds, Sophie. Just let him glare at the partridge if it makes him feel better."

"But glaring at the partridge doesn't make him feel better, it just shows he's got a problem with it."

"And you think surrounding him with birds is going to cure that problem?"

"I don't know," Sophie snapped. "It might. I was afraid of almost everything when I had that spell put on me, and if anything, turning old's an even stranger way to get over being afraid then actually just facing your fear."

Calcifer's bright eyes flickered. "Well, I'm not going to stop you if you do decide to go ahead with it, but don't involve me."

Just as he spoke, Michael came down the stairs, yawning widely. It was clear he had only just woken up. "Sophie? Where's Howl?"

"Slithered off," she growled. "And we're going to take advantage of it."

Michael backed up toward the stairway. "We?"

"All right, _I_. _I'm_ going to take advantage of it, _you_ are going to help."

"Help with what?"

"Come on." She jumped up and ran out of the house, making sure to turn the nob to the Market Chipping door. Once she and Michael were blinking in the glaring snow, she pointed up at the rooftop of the castle. "See those birds there?"

"Those robins?"

"No… the doves- oh, wait. I see them now." There were four robins perched on top of the highest turret of the moving castle, which was little more than decoration, and they all looked quite contented. Sophie squinted at them. "If we can just get them to come down here and stay for a little while- not doing anything, just come down, maybe Howl will see they're not so bad."

"Sophie, I really don't think that's a good idea." Michael's teeth were chattering. "He'll just get annoyed at them."

She ignored him and called up to the robins. "Can you hear me? I need your help! Can you come down and help me help the wizard Howl get over his fear of birds?"

One of the robins cocked its head to the side, ruffled its feathers, and then swooped down towards Sophie, trilling merrily. It was a very pretty specimen, with a brilliant red breast and bright gold talons. She wondered if this bird was as vain as Howl when it came to his grooming. As she watched it, it circled and came down, closer and closer until it was almost on top of her. She ducked instinctively and it rose high above her head only to flutter in circles all around, cheeping all the while. She spun around trying to follow it, lost her balance and fell heavily into the snow. At some point during the robin's flight Michael had ducked back into the castle, and Sophie was left spluttering and furious. She jumped to her feet. "Oh, go away!" she snapped at the bird, who flew back up to its friends with a song that sounded suspiciously like laughter.

Getting up, she stomped back into the castle and wrung out her wet clothes furiously. "Dry already!" she snapped at her dress, and it reluctantly began to do so. She refused to look at either Michael or Calcifer until Howl came back from Market Chipping. Even then she occasionally caught sight of the fire demon grinning, and once the robin perched on the outside of the window with a mischievous glint in its eye that made Sophie very angry indeed. She shooed at it angrily, but it refused to leave until Howl appeared in the far distance of the meadow.

* * *

**I had fun with this one. Howl is such a drama queen XD  
**


	5. Rings for Singing

_On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me five gold rings…_

Two days after the robin incident found Sophie struggling with a long string of holly. She was trying to devise a way to string it around the main living room of the castle without knocking something over or catching the plants on fire from one of the candles which were now hung at intervals throughout the walls. Howl had thought they gave the place a festive look; Sophie had thought they were a fire hazard, and the resulting argument had ended with Sophie growing a gigantic holly bush in the middle of the living room as an example of a non-lethal festive decoration. In an effort to keep the peace, Michael had transformed the thing into a ready-made garland and dragged Howl off to deal with the partridge, which apparently had begun investigating Howl's bottles of hair dye. Sophie had resolved to get the garland hung before they came back, but nothing she could do seemed safe around the candles.

She swore under her breath as the garland dropped from one of the rafters onto her head at the exact same time a knock came at the Kingsbury door. "Howl!" she shouted.

There was no answer for a few moments. Then there was a faint crash and a roar of something that sounded like Howl cursing wildly and at random. Sophie groaned and tore the holly off her shoulders, hoping that the upper level wouldn't turn into a swamp or something equally distressing before she could get there and sort it out. Picking holly leaves out of her hair, she stumbled to the door and tore it open. "What is it?" she gasped, barely trying to keep her voice polite.

A middle-aged man with very obviously dyed black hair, a bright red vest and a gold cane was standing there. "Ah, Mrs. Pendragon, is it? The reports of your beauty have been grossly inadequate, my dear. Truly, I am honored!" He swept off his hat with what he no doubt thought was a rakish air.

Unfortunately for him Sophie had seen this kind of thing too often from Howl to take it seriously. "Thank you, and why did you wish to see the wizard Pendragon?"

"Ah, well. You see, my dear, I have a slight problem. I am hosting a gathering, a ball, for all the nobility of Kingsbury. The trouble is that I am expected to provide entertainment- and every singer's group and choir is fully booked up until Christmas day, and my ball is only four days away!"

Sophie stared at him for a moment. "If you're going to ask Howl to put on a performance for you, you're welcome to try, but I don't think it would go over very well. Especially not when he's in the mood he's now." She winced as more swearing drifted down from the top of the stairs and hoped that the man had not heard it.

If he had, he gave no sign of it. "But no, my dear! I would never dream of making the wizard lower his dignity in such a way! But if there's any charm you can give me- anything to lend my little evening some entertainment- I'll be a laughingstock if you don't help me!"

"You need them four days from now?"

"Yes- do you mean you'll help me? Oh please, gracious lady-"

"Oh, be quiet," Sophie said good-humoredly. "I'll do my best. Come back tomorrow and I'll see what I can do. I can't promise anything though." She winced as another crash came from the top of the stairs and took the man firmly by the arm to turn him around. "Come back tomorrow," she repeated, and practically shoved him away.

She dashed up the stairs to find Howl and Michael in the bathroom. Michael was trying to nudge the partridge out the door and calm Howl, who was standing over some broken bottles as though he had just lost a dear friend. Sophie sighed and leaned down to the silver bird. "Go on back downstairs and don't make any more trouble," she said firmly. "If you do, I may talk you back into being just a lump of metal."

The partridge shuffled out, its claws shrieking a little on the floor and Sophie turned her attention back to Howl. "There was a customer while you were up here," she said quickly, before Howl could start complaining about the partridge.

He waved a hand. "I don't do love potions, safety spells take two days, if it was the king, I wasn't at home…"

"Howl." Sophie glared at him and he quieted down. "It was someone who said he needed entertainment for a party that's coming in a few days."

At that he sprang upright as though something had stung him. "Absolutely not! I don't do magic tricks for anyone!"

"Unless it's your nephews and niece? And anyway, I told him that, and he just wants some charm that can make his servants into good performers. He seemed to want music especially, so I thought that perhaps you could make something that'll give his servants the ability to sing."

"Oh." Howl looked somewhat mollified. "I can do that. There are a few different spells that can work that- I think the safest one is charming an object that gives the holder the ability to sing."

Sophie nodded. "Is it something you want me to do?"

Howl hesitated, and she immediately bristled. "What? Is this something I haven't learned yet?"

He swung around so that he was between her and the door and gave her a dazzling smile. "Not at all. But I have to make arrangements for it, especially since if you slip and snap at the objects we're charming- in this case, I think we'll do rings- you might make them do something they weren't supposed to do."

"All right, but make it quick," Sophie said after a pause. She was sure he was hiding something from her, but had a feeling it would be easier to pretend to be deceived and then catch him in the act of whatever he was doing.

Howl went downstairs and Sophie immediately ordered the bottles of hair dye to reassemble and clean themselves up. It took her a few tries, but she was eventually able to get them back into bottle-shape, though cracks still covered their surfaces. However all her best efforts could not salvage the hair dye, and she finally gave up.

She hovered at the top of the stairs for a moment before quietly descending. Whatever Howl was doing, he would be caught in the act.

He was sitting at his workbench with bits of bright jewelry and a piece of paper in front of him. As she approached, he lowered his hands from the jewelry and quickly bent over one in particular. When Sophie cleared her throat, he spun around looking very guilty.

She glared at him. "Let me guess. You already did the charm yourself and wouldn't let me help."

He looked discomforted, and she gave a very wide and artificial smile. "Oh, I _see_. When it comes to cleaning up, my magic is useful and very well and good, but when it comes to helping someone out with a spell, then I'm of no use at all."

"Sophie, how could you say such a thing?" Howl asked with a wounded expression. "If I'm going to be shamelessly overcharging this noble for this ridiculously simple charm, I think it only fair to keep that burden confined to my conscience alone." With a sudden flourish, he held a bright ring in front of her. It was bright gold with a faint swirl cut along its smooth surface. Tiny diamonds twinkled at regular intervals.

Sophie stared at it before gingerly taking it in her hands. "Howl, it's gorgeous- but…"

"You think I gave it with an ulterior motive? Calcifer, how did I get stuck with such a heartless wife? I can't believe…"

"Oh shut up, Howl," Sophie snapped, trying very hard not to laugh. "I'm sorry. It's lovely. I just don't understand why you're doing this now rather than at Christmas."

"I'm impatient," Howl said with a wave of his hand. "And a few days ago, I may have sufficiently irritated a colony of fairies to the point that I want you to keep the ring on so they can't steal you."

Sophie slipped the ring on her finger with a groan. "_Howl._ A colony of fairies? How on earth did you manage to do that?"

"I needed some of their dust for a few of my more delicate spells! How was I supposed to know they'd get angry? It's not like they use it; it's sand to them and nothing more!"

Sophie buried her head in her hands. "I see. Well, thank you for the charm to keep me safe, and once we've delivered these things-" she gestured to the four remaining rings on Howl's table, "we should see about calming down those fairies. By the way, what did you do for the rings?"

"Them? It's quite a simple charm. When the servants are wearing all the rings at once, they'll be able to harmonize no matter what they sing or how difficult it is. It'll work even if they don't know all the words off the top of their head. As long as they've heard the songs, they'll be able to sing them. All they'll have to do is get the program together."

He sat back with a smile and Sophie twisted the ring on her finger gingerly. It seemed that her first Christmas as a wizard's wife might have more adventure than she had bargained for.

* * *

**So yeah, work ate my life for the past few days. But hey, look on the bright side! There's a plot! Or faint traces of it. We're getting there. Really. **


	6. Grappling with Geese

_On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me six geese a laying…_

Cooking with magic was far more difficult than Sophie would have expected. She glared at the mixing bowl that sat innocently in front of her on the counter. The golden brown goop that lay inside it looked like something from a bog, and not something that should go inside a tin pan to be baked and eaten. She had a feeling there was too much milk and not nearly enough flour, and she wondered for a moment if it was possible for her to separate the ingredients when they were already mixed together. She had a feeling it could be done, but that the result would be a mess. Howl had said that there was only so much he could teach her; her magic was not suited to following rules, given that she could talk things to life or coax into doing what she wanted.

She tried to think of how she could best fix the mistakes she had made in her ingredients. The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became. Depending on the words she used, every ingredient could end up emptying itself into the mixing bowl. She would have to concentrate hard to make sure that it understood what she wanted it to do.

Focusing all her attention on the mixing bowl, she folded her arms and stared at the bags of flour and sugar and the pitcher of milk. "All right, listen up," she said firmly. "You, milk and flour, I'm trying to make a cake and you aren't cooperating. Mix yourselves into the bowl so that you're _exactly_ the amount the recipe requires and stop as soon as you finish. And when they're done, you," she pointed at the sugar, "need to pour yourself in so that you're proportionate to the amount the milk and flour set. Stop when you're done. Now get going!"

The flour and the milk began to pour themselves into the bowl, and the mix began to swirl and stir them together of its own accord. After a few seconds the pitcher of milk left off pouring and set itself back on the counter. The flour tumbled for a few seconds longer before the top of the paper bag folded up and the bag itself plopped back onto the counter beside the milk. Sophie watched the sugar narrowly as it began to scoop itself into the mix. When it had done so three times, there was a very long pause before it added one last mound about a quarter of the size the others had been. Then the sugar bag folded itself up much like the flour bag had. Sophie gave it a suspicious look for a moment before taking up a spoon and mixing the batter herself. But to her relief it actually appeared to have the right texture for cake batter this time, even though there was considerably more of it than she had originally needed. At this rate, she was going to have to make several cakes.

A crackling from the fire made her glance up. "Why are you trying to make a cake with magic?" Calcifer asked from beneath a large glowing log. "You've done it before without that."

"It's for practice," Sophie said shortly, brushing her hair back from her forehead. Her back was aching from the strain of bending over the counter for so long. "I want to get better at talking to things with magic. I haven't done it as often as I'd like, and since I've made a few mistakes with it," she glanced at the partridge, "I want to make sure I know what I'm doing."

She began to pour the batter into the round pan that lay to the left of the mixing bowl. Smoothing it out, she turned to the hearth and stuck it in the oven that was positioned just beneath it. There was still a good deal of batter left, but she could deal with it later. Collapsing in the chair in front of Calcifer's fire, she let her eyes close.

A clattering, cackling, and shouts jolted her awake. There was a strong scent of baking cake, and half-asleep as she was, her first instinct was to panic about whether or not the thing had burned. She jumped upright and immediately forgot about the cake as she spun around to face the passage that led to the other rooms of the castle.

Three or four huge white geese were flapping and cackling in the hallway, and behind them somewhere in the recesses of the hall she could hear Howl shouting at Michael. "What were you doing?" he wailed. "I'll bet Sophie put you up to this. Look at my clothes! How many more of these things are there?"

"I didn't put him up to anything!" Sophie hollered. Just as she spoke there came a knock.

"Kingsbury door!" Calcifer called, with a very wicked grin on his face.

Sophie groaned and spun away from the hall. "It's probably that wretched noble for his stupid entertainment!" She dashed to Howl's bench, where the rings were packaged neatly and respectably in a black box with a note on how to use them, grabbed the box, and practically sprinted to the door.

It was indeed the noble who had come the previous day. "Ah, Mrs. Pendragon…"

"Here!" Sophie snarled. "The fee's thirty gold coins." She glanced frantically behind her as the crashing and cackle of geese grew louder.

The man craned his neck in an effort to see past her into the castle. "My dear, is anything wrong?"

"Nothing at all," Sophie snapped. "Please give me the fee and be quick about it!"

"But of course! Here." He quickly produced a sack from a pocket in his cape and began to count the coins out with exasperating slowness.

Sophie was practically hopping from one foot to the other and finally could no longer stand the wait. "Oh, come on, coins! Thirty of you! Get out and in the house right now!"

The bright specks of gold flew out of the pouch and in a straight line took off into the castle. Sophie saw them arranging themselves in a pile at the top of the stairs and gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, sir," she said as brightly as she could. "Do come again!"

She shut the door quickly and dashed back into the castle. Now it seemed there were even more geese fluttering around in the main room. Feathers were everywhere. One of the geese had hopped onto the hearth and was flapping its wings as if in a war dance. Two of them had perched on the back of the armchair and one was attacking Michael's boots. Howl was standing heroically in front of his work bench and was just setting down a sheet of paper. "Michael, get of the way!" he roared. "I'm going to turn all of them into feather pillows!"

"Oh, really," Sophie groaned. "Listen up, geese!" she shouted. "Stop flying about like a scatterbrained flock of hens! You have more sense than that! Line up and _be quiet!_"

To her great relief, they did so. There were six in all, all of them huge birds with snowy feathers and rubbery necks. They shuffled and cackled a bit as they arranged themselves in order in front of the fireplace, but at least they were no longer tearing around the room. Sophie took a deep breath. "Calcifer, open the Market Chipping door! Make sure it's open to the meadow!"

The doorknob swirled and the door swung open to reveal the snow-covered plain. Sophie turned to the geese. "Get out there and down the town. Someone will deal with you there."

They fluttered out in a cackling, waddling line. Sophie slammed the door behind them and turned to the main room. It was covered with feathers and goose droppings and she cringed at the thought of cleaning all of them up. Michael was trying to duck off down the passageway without being seen. Howl seemed to have become absorbed with his workbench. "Don't you dare, you two," she said menacingly. "What was that about? Why was there a flock of geese in the castle? Michael?"

He cringed. "I thought you wanted them! To help Howl get over the fear of birds!"

"Really?" Howl said acidly. "And just how would a flock of vicious geese do anything to get rid of my fear- _dislike_- of birds? I should have known that this would…"

"Oh, Howl, stop," Sophie stared at Michael. "I guess- all right. It wasn't a good idea. But I appreciate that you wanted to help. And Howl should too.I know it wasn't the best plan. But it was an effort to help. It's not like he was trying to get the whole place turned upside down."She glared at the wizard, who had suddenly become very interested in the feathers on his suit, and sighed. "In a way I guess it's my fault. I should be more careful with what I say." She stooped and began to gather up the feathers. As she bent down in front of the hearth, she suddenly shrieked and dropped to her knees in front of the oven. There was a strong scent of burning.

With a groan, she grabbed a cloth and hauled the blackened cake out of the oven. "Good thing I have extra batter," she snarled at the burned cake. "You two," she snapped at Michael and Howl. "You chased all the birds out here. Start cleaning up the mess." She marched off toward the kitchen, ignoring Howl's pointed grumble about how he had had death threats less terrifying than one of Sophie's orders. If she paid attention, she would probably get more annoyed than ever, and she was irritated enough as it was.

* * *

**Work is still driving me insane. It makes me want to sleep every spare hour instead of writing. This one'll probably get revised. At some point. In the future. Whenever that may be.  
Thanks so much to everyone who's reading! :)  
**


	7. One Swan a Hissing

_On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me seven swans a swimming…_

Michael kept out of sight as much as possible after the incident with the geese, though Howl already seemed to have forgotten about it. Sophie herself had not thought any the worse of Michael for attempting to help her. Indeed the incident had only given her more motivation to try and help Howl get over his fear of birds. But for the moment that would have to wait, since Howl had apparently managed to anger a fairy colony. How he had been able to do that, Sophie had not the faintest idea, and she was waiting for him to finish dying his hair so she could ask.

Curling up in the armchair in front of the fire, she stared at the flickering coals. Calcifer appeared to be resting, as evidenced by the fact that the logs were glowing brightly and steadily with low flame instead of crackling and flaring. Sophie found her eyelids growing heavy as she stared at the embers. Just as she was on the verge of falling asleep, Calcifer suddenly leapt out from between the logs and began to devour the stick of wood that was most intact. "Late night last night?" he asked very innocently.

"Shut up," Sophie grumbled. "And it's none of your business if it was. I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about fairies, and where Howl could possibly have found a whole colony of them to annoy."

"Shouldn't you be asking Howl that?"

"He's still perfecting his golden locks," Sophie said loudly with a glare at the bathroom door. "And so while I'm waiting, you can tell me what you know about them so I can pin Howl down later."

"Hm." Calcifer settled thoughtfully between two short stubby logs. "I don't know all that much, I'm afraid. Fairies aren't very common in this world; and I've only heard Howl talk about how fairy dust can be useful for some spells. Michael might know more about it."

"Would he?" A door opened somewhere upstairs and Sophie twisted around in time to see Michael coming down the stairs. Howl had taken to letting him sleep in as Christmas drew near, and Sophie guessed that he was growing. He gave her a nod and Sophie smiled. "There's some eggs and bacon on the table," she said. "It shouldn't be too cool yet."

Michael sat down and began digging into the food she had set out. Sophie waited until the clinks of the fork on the plate had slowed and then asked, "Michael, has Howl talked to you about fairies?"

The boy paused with a forkful of egg halfway to his mouth, looking alarmed. "Yes, he has."

Sophie gave him a long look and he guiltily set the fork down. "Well?"

"Sophie, honestly, he hasn't said very much! He just talked about how they have some useful ingredients for spells and how hard they were to find. I actually think he was mostly talking to himself and I just happened to be there. He wasn't really paying attention."

"You're sure that's all he said? Nothing about going off somewhere to look for them?"

"I don't think so. I don't think he would have told me anyway. He probably wouldn't want anyone to find out if he did decide to go looking for them."

"How right you are," Sophie muttered.

A door closed suddenly and Howl entered with his hair so bright that Sophie was tempted to ask if he'd put glitter in it. She refrained with difficulty. Howl gave both her and Michael an absentminded nod and dropped down onto his bench, flipping through some parchments. Sophie watched him for a moment before getting to her feet and sauntering over to his side. "What are you looking up?" she asked.

"Spells," he replied vaguely.

"Anything to do with fairies?"

Before Howl could answer a knock sounded. Calcifer flickered up lazily. "Kingsbury door."

Michael opened it to reveal a harried-looking footman who looked as though he had run a long distance to get to the house. "Is the wizard Pendragon here?"

Howl rose with a swirl of his cape. "Yes. What do you need?"

"Wizard Pendragon! I've just come from the palace- we need your help. It's- well, it's rather a delicate matter."

Howl looked mildly interested and glanced at Sophie. "Is it indeed?"

"Yes. We need your help, and if you could come as quickly as possible, we- that is to say, the king- would be very grateful."

"Well," Howl said thoughtfully. "That sounds intriguing. Sophie, would you care to join me?"

Both the footman and Sophie blinked. Sophie herself was surprised by Howl's request, and was almost certain he had some reason for it. The open disapproval of the footman decided her, however, and she grabbed her coat.

As she and Howl followed the footman through the twisting roads, Howl took her arm in his and Sophie saw him glance at her hand. "I'm wearing it," she said cheerfully, and angled her left hand so that the charmed ring Howl had given her caught the cold winter sun. "And since you seem to be worried about whether or not I'm wearing this thing- well, you might as well tell me about the fairies."

Howl looked around as though the houses had suddenly become fascinating. "Fairies are difficult, dangerous, and generally very charming. That's really all there is to know about them."

"So then how did you manage to annoy an entire colony of them?"

"I had to get fairy dust!"

"What did that require? Breaking and entering? Trickery?" Howl looked away and Sophie groaned. "Oh, dear. What did you do to get in to get the fairy dust?"

"The usual courtesies, nothing more!"

"And those courtesies involve…"

"Offering homage to their king, which I didn't do, and providing some sort of tribute, which I didn't pay."

Sophie gave him a sharp glance. "Those are both easy to remember and I know you like to pretend to be absent-minded, but when it comes to magic, your memory's always been good. What else did you do?"

Howl sighed. "The wounds of a broken heart, Sophie. They linger for so long, but it was never- that is to say I never meant…"

"Oh, _no._" Sophie clamped her free hand to her mouth. "You didn't jilt a fairy, did you?"

"She wasn't- how was I supposed to know her husband was king?"

"_Howl_! You jilted the fairy queen?"

"It's as much Titania's fault as it is mine! I wouldn't have done it if I'd known she was married!"

Sophie groaned. "Oh, Howl. And let me guess. The king will want his revenge by going after me."

Howl airily waved his hand and a drift of snow burst up to surround them both with snowflakes much in the manner of a snowglobe. "He sent me a message to that effect the other day. Believe me, Sophie, I have no intention of allowing him to do that. After all, I do have some slight talent as a wizard."

He said this with such an air of false modesty that Sophie could not help but grin. "I think I'm going to have to keep you intact rather than the other way around," she said. "You seem to have a genius for angering the wrong people, which isn't good when we're about to go to the palace."

"Ah, yes. Well if it's a matter of delicacy, I promise to be the soul of tact."

"I'll make sure of that," Sophie said. Together they came before the palace gates, which swung open to reveal bright lights and holly-lined walkways. As they walked, they passed an ornate pond that sprawled lazily in the palace gardens which lay to their right. Sophie noticed that there were several swans paddling elegantly in the murky water and she wondered what Howl would think if he noticed them.

As if her husband had heard her thought, he suddenly stiffened. Sophie saw him glance at the swans with evident distaste. "I will say this for Michael's misadventure with the geese," he said proudly. "I feel like I could take on a whole flock of birds right now."

"I wouldn't recommend swans," Sophie cautioned. "They can be even nastier than geese from what I hear."

As if to prove her point, one of the birds suddenly flared its wings and beat the air furiously, hissing at them both for all world as though it was poised to attack. Sophie found herself suddenly standing between Howl and the bird and she rolled her eyes. "Stop it this minute," she snapped at the swan. "I was speaking rhetorically. You don't _have_ to be nasty. Go back to your friends."

The bird settled eventually and did so. Sophie looked around for Howl in time to see that he had somehow crossed more than half the courtyard in very short order; in fact he was well ahead of the footman. But the man did not head for the tall palace staircase. Instead he made for a small side door located to the left of the main stairs. Howl and Sophie exchanged confused glances before following his lead.

* * *

**So what do you all think? Interesting? Enjoyable? Intriguing? Bizarre? Let me know!  
**


	8. A Maid's Mistake

_On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me eight maids a milking…_

The footman led Howl and Sophie through a narrow little hallway that was nothing like the grand sweeping halls that Sophie had seen in her previous visits to the palace of the king of Ingary. There were plain wooden doors and loud conversations. Servants were passing to and fro bearing anything from crates of live poultry to buckets of foul-smelling refuse. There was much more traffic in the hallway than was fit for its small size, and more than once Sophie and Howl found themselves crushed against the wall while a procession of people forced their way past.

As she walked Sophie became aware that many of the passing servants were giving her and Howl looks that were mingled with fear and relief. She caught snippets of conversations that seemed to indicate that something had gone horribly wrong. It was apparent in the hushed tone of the talk, and from the way the voices died down as she, Howl, and the footman passed, she guessed that it was something that was being kept hidden and secret.

The footman suddenly turned into one of the side rooms, so suddenly that Sophie walked into Howl when he stopped to try to follow the man. Inside the chamber were four young women, three of whom looked as though they had been crying. The fourth was standing in the back of the room with a shaken look on her pretty face. Sophie saw Howl giving that maid quite a long look, and she stepped hard on his foot without even bothering to make the action covert. She grinned at Howl's grunt of pain and the footman coughed disapprovingly. Quickly she straightened up and tried to look serious.

The footman coughed again and straightened up. "Now, Wizard Pendragon, before we proceed any further, I want you to be aware that this is to be- ah- kept in the strictest confidence. It cannot leave this room. We are relying on your- ah- absolute discretion."

Sophie thought with a smile that if the man had wanted discretion he would have been better off seeking a different wizard. Howl seemed to have the same thought, for he exchanged a glance with Sophie and subconsciously shifted his cloak, which that day was a brilliant shade of blue. "Can I ask why you didn't ask Wizard Suliman to deal with this problem?"

The footman looked horrified. "The King's wizard? We couldn't do that! Wizard Suliman has to report to his Majesty and if that were to happen…" His voice trailed off.

"All right, all right." Howl waved his hand airily. "I suppose I'll do what I can. What is the problem, exactly?"

At that question the footman looked more uncomfortable than ever and all the maids stared at the floor. One of the ones who had been weeping began to cry all over again, her sniffles ringing throughout the room. Sophie glanced at Howl and gave his hand a quick squeeze in the hopes that it would keep him from talking. He understood and kept quiet while she moved forward and handed the sniffling maid a handkerchief. "Don't worry," she said cheerfully. "It'll be all right, you'll see. Don't worry. Howl and I can fix whatever happened. Just tell us what it was and we'll make sure to set it right."

She turned around to see Howl giving her a horrified look. "What?" she hissed as she went back to his side and waited for the maid to calm down.

"You can't guarantee that we'll set it right! We don't even know what we're trying to fix!"

"Then we'd better find out, hadn't we?" She turned to the footman. "Now, can you tell us, without any coughing, what happened?"

"Well- ah- these girls decided that they were going to have a secret gift exchange among themselves and a few others. And- ah- they are all somewhat foolish when it comes to expenses, and- ah-"

"Oh, be quiet," the maid who had been standing silently in the back of the room said irritably. "We're not exactly wealthy, but we were trying to get nice presents. One of the girls decided she was going to transform some cheap trinket into something prettier, and it didn't work."

Howl raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

The maid took a deep breath. "She turned the royal cook into a cow."

Sophie gasped and tried very hard not to burst out laughing. "She turned the cook into a cow? How could she have messed up the spell that badly?"

The footman looked pained. "We- ah- are not sure, but we five are the only ones who witnessed the transformation and we are- ah- trying to keep word from spreading. But the dinner hour is drawing near, and- ah- we need- ah- help," he finished rather lamely.

Howl looked vaguely impressed. "This must have been a very powerful maid to have made a mistake that could change someone into an animal. Where's the cow- er, cook- now?"

"In here," the calmest maid said. She tapped a heavy door just to her left. "It's an old storage room; we figured it was the best place to keep it from doing any damage."

In confirmation of her words, an anguished 'moo' echoed from behind the door. Howl gave Sophie a quick glance and strode to the door purposefully. He flung it wide and was confronted by a huge brown and white splashed head flaring nostrils and a very angry expression in its large eyes. The cow bellowed very loudly in Howl's face and the wizard jumped backwards. "Good heavens," he muttered. "How on earth was a maid able to get a spell that powerful? No one should be able to do that by accident- unless…" He spun around to the calm maid. "Who did this transformation? Don't worry, I'm not going to turn her in or anything of the sort, but if someone's able to do this kind of magic by accident, they really shouldn't be working as a maid."

All four of the maids stared at one another. Then at last the calm maid, who seemed to have usurped the footman's role as spokesman, cleared her throat. "It was Clara."

The maid who had been openly crying burst into tears again. "I didn't mean to!" she wailed. "I found the spell on a bit of paper in the kitchen, but it wasn't anything to do with cows! It was for fixing things that were broken, it said so right at the top of the paper! And I thought I could fix up some old jewelry and I was trying it and then the next thing I knew the cook was a cow!" She began sobbing all the more loudly.

Howl regarded the cow thoughtfully. "That's very interesting. A carefully labeled spell just happened to turn up in the kitchen. And you said it, transformed the cook into a cow." He grabbed the cow under the chin, turning its head from side to side and examining it closely. "This is a very powerful spell," he said at last. "It's not just an illusion. It incorporated everything about the cook into this spell. I bet you were wearing a brown dress when you were changed, weren't you?" The cow nodded mournfully. Howl turned back to Clara. "Do you have the paper with the spell?"

The maid straightened with a loud sniffle. "I think so." She reached into her apron pocket and a puzzled look crossed her face. She plunged her hand into her pocket again and there was a rustling sound. Finally she looked back at Howl with a horrified expression. "It's gone! It's… not- I don't know what happened!" She drew her hand out to reveal a fistful of glittering flakes.

Howl swore softly. "Fairy magic. I should have known it."

"Fairy magic?" The footman looked fearful and more than a bit annoyed. "But Wizard Pendragon, surely you can do something about it! The royal dinner is due in only two hours!"

Sophie gave him annoyed look. "Is that all you can think about?" she snapped. "The Royals can have crackers and tea for all you should care." She turned to Howl. "Is the spell something I could talk away?"

Howl surveyed the cook turned cow again. "It'd be risky. Fairy magic is difficult. There's probably a way to get rid of this, but it won't be anything easy…"

Sophie grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the far corner of the room. "Does this have anything to do with your antics in the fairy court that I knew nothing about until very recently?" she hissed.

"How could I know they'd take it out the palace servants? It's not my fault! I'm going to try to help…"

"That's not the question," Sophie said sharply. "If this has anything to do with what you did, the solution may be tied to what you did. You said fairy magic is difficult. Could this spell be lifted through fairy dust?"

Howl gaped at her. "I- yes, it's possible, but Sophie, I don't know how to use it to fix this kind of problem! I know fairy dust has healing properties, but even those I only know how to use when they're written specifically into a spell. I wouldn't know how to use it for this!"

"That's where I come in. I'm going to get the fairy dust and try and talk it into lifting the spell. If the dust has the property to fix the spell, it should do it if I just tell it to change the person back, right?"

"Yes," Howl said softly. "But Sophie- I didn't want to tell the others this, but this spell will become permanent very soon. A lot of the fairy spells are like that- they have a time frame after which they either melt away or become lasting. And when they're lasting spells, they've been cast by a very powerful fairy. He- or she- might try to stop us lifting the spell."

"So what?" Sophie tried to pull away, but Howl caught her arm.

"Sophie, I mean they may try and stop you getting back here with the dust. Make sure you have your ring and don't let anyone stop you, no matter what you do. The dust is in a small bottle in the bottom drawer of my desk. I'm going to put a delaying spell on this poor cook so the effects will take longer, but I can get a half hour at most. You'll have to run."

Sophie kissed him quickly on the cheek before darting out the door and running back through the narrow passage, practically throwing people into the walls. She burst out into the courtyard and sprinted to the gate. As she reached the Kingsbury streets, she stopped for a second, completely bewildered. There was traffic off all kinds, Christmas tree sellers, food stands, carts pulling to and fro and throngs of people going in and out shops. Sophie swore once and plunged into the crowd, dodging huge bustles of noblewomen, carriages, stands that seemed to pop out of nowhere and plunged down the first street to the left, which she knew was one of the streets that she had to pass through. But the more she ran, the more unfamiliar the lamp-lit walkways seemed. All the buildings were the same kind of elegance, though some were dark and others brightly lit. All the cobblestones looked alike. She found herself standing in the middle of a deserted square, turning helplessly around in circles. She was completely lost now. And she had lost at least ten minutes.

Gasping for breath, she straightened up and tried to think. Her being lost could certainly be the work of a fairy, but she had gotten lost in Kingsbury before and this was probably her own fault, though the fairies might have made for some of the difficulties in traffic.

She took a deep breath. "All right, shoes," she whispered. "I'm going to start walking and you'd better get me back to Howl's castle. And you had better do it quickly."

She took one step and found herself running, almost stumbling. The feeling of her shoes pulling her around was unnerving; it was almost as bad the time she had tried seven league boots. But her shoes seemed to know her usual way of running and took her through the narrow streets without hesitating once. After some minutes they stopped so suddenly she almost fell. She was back at the door of the Pendragon House.

Dashing inside, she ignored Calcifer's surprised greeting, practically ran over Michael to get to Howl's work area, and rummaged through the desk. She found the bottle, which looked like it was full of glittering sand, and grabbed it. Then she dashed out the door, slamming it on Calcifer and Michael's surprised cries.

The snow was falling thick and fast now. Sophie began to run through the streets as fast as she could go. But the more the wind screamed the more lost she felt. She thought she knew the best way to get to the castle, but was growing less certain of her choices of road the further she went. The streets looked familiar, but then most of the Kingsbury roads looked the same. She ignored the pain in her side and pressed on, whispering to her shoes as she did so, "Come on. Get me back to the king's palace as quickly as you can."

Once again she was stumbling and running. Her breath was coming in gasps as she made her way past the street dealers, who were starting to close up shop as the winds grew stronger. People brushed by her huddled deep in their coats. But she could see the spires of the palace and knew that she was getting close. Her shoes took her onwards a few more paces, plunged her into a side street from which she emerged with several rips in her coat, and led her across the main street so abruptly that a carriage almost ran her over. She caught herself barely in time and made it to the gates, ignoring the shouts of the carriage driver and his passenger. She sprinted across the courtyard. Her left hand was burning hot from where she had fallen in front of the carriage wheels and she was having increasing trouble focusing past the stitch in her side. But she kept running and eventually crashed headlong into the side door.

Howl opened it almost immediately. Sophie felt chilled to the bone and wanted nothing more than to collapse in a comfortable chair somewhere. But she had to save the cook from being a cow all her life. "Did I make it in time?" she croaked.

Howl nodded and took her hand. "Yes. Come on." Gently he slid the bottle of fairy dust from her right hand and led her down the hall. "You'll have to do this part of the magic."

From the strain in his voice, Sophie guessed that the transformation spell was very powerful indeed. She stumbled after him and into the side room where the five servants were waiting anxiously. Taking the cap off the bottle, she tipped a handful of the glittering dust into her hand and walked toward the cook turned cow. "Don't worry," she said with as best a smile as she could manage. The cow lowed faintly and gave her an anxious look, but kept still.

Sophie drew a deep breath and concentrated hard on the fairy dust and the cow. "All right," she whispered. "Dust, you need to do your part and get this poor woman back to normal. Do it quickly and make sure you get everything about her right, exactly the way it was before."

She was about to throw the dust at the cow when Howl shook his head. "Blow the dust at her," he said. Sophie stared at him, and so did everyone else. "Trust me!" he said. "You can talk life into things and breathing has a lot of power when it comes to that kind of magic. Otherwise…" He let his voice trail off, and Sophie did not need him to finish it. Otherwise her power would not be enough to work into the dust.

Moving close to the animal, she cupped her hand and tipped it very slightly over the cow's head. "Remember everything I said," she whispered. "And do what you should." She blew the glittering powder off her hand and onto the horned head.

For a sickening moment nothing happened. Then the dust began to gather and swirl around the creature, whipping up a shimmering whirlwind. Sophie stepped back as the whirlwind tightened and constricted, spinning around faster and faster until the cow seemed almost caught in a tornado. Then suddenly the whirlwind straightened upright and stopped. The dust fell away and a middle-aged woman in a brown dress and white apron was standing in the doorway looking terribly shaken.

Sophie and Howl fell back and let the other servants explain what had happened to her. They were shrieking, shouting and exclaiming about how wonderful Sophie and Howl had been, but Sophie could barely hear them. She wanted nothing more than to go back to the castle and nap for the rest of the day, and was greatly relieved when Howl finally suggested that they do so.

As they stepped outside into the midday snowstorm, Howl took her arm in his. "You were gone a while," he said with an air of casualness that rang completely false. "Were you…"

His voice trailed off and Sophie turned to see what had caught his attention. He was staring at her hand. In the dim grey atmosphere it was hard to see clearly, but the light of the lamps showed a faint red mark on her left finger where the ring rested. Howl gingerly moved the metal band a little to reveal that the ring had left a burn everywhere it had touched her finger.

Sophie raised an eyebrow. "So is this what your protection does? Burns the people it's guarding?"

"Yes," Howl said shortly. "That burn means the ring was warning you. While you getting the powder, a fairy must have tried to steal you."

* * *

**Gah, this one was really hard to get right. This whole sequence took way longer than I thought it was going to, but whatever. Don't mind me. I really wish DWJ had made her magic system a bit easier to understand, but I guess that's like complaining about the laws of physics not being easy. **

**Review if there are any glaring mistakes or instances of bad writing. Or if you liked it :)  
**


	9. Many Nobles Dancing

_On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me nine ladies dancing…_

After the incident with the cow, Howl had made Sophie promise that she would not leave the castle until he tracked down the fairy that had tried to steal her. For a day Sophie had been quite happy with this; she had gotten the time to practice baking with her magic, clean one of Howl's storage rooms that she had been trying to organize since early autumn, and read one of the books that came from Howl's world, a book of poems that he seemed to quite like. Sophie had found some of the poems strange and confusing, but a few of them had been quite beautiful and she had enjoyed relaxing with them.

But now that she was well into the second day of castle confinement, reading, cleaning, and even magic had lost their charms. Night had fallen, the castle was cleaner than it had been in months, and she and her husband had been at each other's throats since mid-afternoon. Howl had hidden himself in his storage room after a dispute over relative safety had led to a bottle of potion exploding all over the room and Sophie had not yet pressed him to open the door.

"Sophie, will you stop, please?" Calcifer's grumbling caused her to halt her pacing for a brief second to glare at him before resuming her walking up and down in front of the fire. "You're driving me crazy; if I have to hear that board by the chair squeak again, I think I'll shoot sparks at you."

"I'll send them back up the chimney," Sophie replied, but she threw herself in the chair. However she jumped back up after only a few seconds. "Calcifer, I can't do it. I wanted to go and visit my sisters and see if they needed help with Christmas, I wanted to get a present for Fanny and I am _sick_ _of the castle_!"

The fire demon's flame retreated a little at her shout, and Sophie drove a hand partway through her thick red-gold hair. She spun around to storm off to the kitchen in the hopes of finding some distraction and saw Michael cringing in the passageway. She gave him a curt nod which did not seem to do much to dispel his nervousness and she sighed. "Tell the truth. Have I really been that hard to deal with the past two days?"

Michael took a quick glance at Calcifer, and their voices rang out in harmony. "Yes."

Sophie found that a death glare was almost impossible to give when you were trying to stare down two people who were standing on opposite sides of the room and gave up after a few seconds. She knew that she was being unreasonable and that it was unfair to take out her frustration on Michael and Calcifer. But she had been looking forward to Christmas and the thought that she would have to miss out on the festivities because of an angry group of fairies was maddening. "There must be a book or something about fairies," she muttered to herself, and began to pace again. "Howl didn't tell me when this happened, but he implied that it was a few days ago, which could mean anything from a few days to a few weeks. But since you, Calcifer, said he hasn't talked to you about fairies, they're something he must have stumbled across on his own. Michael, did you ever see Howl reading a book or paper or anything a few days back? Or did he go to some library or other or anywhere strange where he might have stumbled across a fairy?"

Before Michael could answer a rapid knocking came at the door. Both Sophie and Michael spun toward the door and Calcifer leapt up in his fireplace. "Kingsbury door!"

Sophie opened it to find Lettie standing there with red cheeks and windswept hair dusted with snowflakes. "Sophie! Are you or Howl free?"

Sophie glanced around the castle room, feeling like a prisoner whose guard had fallen asleep with the key to the cell in reach. "I don't have anything to do," she said cautiously.

"Good!" Lettie exclaimed. "Because I need your help. There's something going on at a party and Ben's away at the palace getting everything in order for the king. Someone came to me and I went to go get you."

"What's going on?"

"People's shoes won't stop dancing."

Sophie blinked and out of the corner of her eye she could see Michael staring. "People's shoes won't stop dancing?" she repeated.

"No. They were all at a party that had dancing and an orchestra and apparently it took people a while to figure out that they couldn't stop dancing after they'd started. I only found out because a waltzing couple was able to get to Ben's house and even then I could only get them to slow-dance so that they could tell me what was wrong. It was a really difficult spell to just mute."

Sophie stiffened. "It was a strong spell?"

Lettie nodded. Sophie glanced from Michael to Calcifer. It was very tempting to tell Lettie that she would of course come and help, but if this magic was coming from the source Sophie thought it might, she knew she would need Howl, for his fairy knowledge if nothing else. "Hold on," she said and dashed back through the passage to hammer on the storage room of Howl's door. "Howl! Get out here right now unless you want me going after a fairy by myself!"

She waited for a few seconds before turning back to Lettie. "All right, let's go." She grabbed her grey coat and immediately shut the door behind her on an astonished-looking Michael and Calcifer.

Her sister stared at her. "Aren't you going to wait for Howl?"

"He'll catch up," Sophie said calmly. "Now come on, I always get lost here and you know it."

Lettie grinned. "All right. We're not very far away; it's close to the palace." They hurried through the darkened streets with snow swirling down out of a black sky. The further they walked the grander the houses became.

"We're getting close," Lettie said after a moment. "And Sophie, why'd you tell Howl you were going after a fairy?"

"Long story," Sophie grumbled. "Suffice to say, he's at the bottom of it, as he usually is, and I have to sort it out."

"You're grinning like a jack-o-lantern," Lettie pointed out with an answering smile. "So I'm going to take it that you don't mind too much."

After a few minutes they arrived at one of the most elegant mansions in all Kingsbury. Sophie wrinkled her brow as she stared at it. All the windows were brilliantly lit and there were faint traces of lively music in the air. "Wasn't this house empty a few months ago?"

"Yes- no- now I don't remember. Come on, Sophie, this doesn't matter now!"

They both ran up to the house. Lettie stared at the door as though wondering whether to knock, but Sophie shoved the door open without hesitation. It opened to reveal a newly painted hall with a grand staircase and paintings and tapestries hanging on the walls. There was a set of open double doors to the immediate left of the front door and Sophie walked through them without hesitation.

She was greeted by the sight of brilliantly colored ball gowns and the sound of clacking shoes. There was a definite lag to the rhythm of the dancers, who all had varying expressions of exhaustion and confusion. The long skirts made it harder to see the women's feet, but the men seemed to be being dragged around by their shoes and Sophie found herself having difficulty not giggling. Darting alongside a couple that was swinging drearily in place, she began following them around the dance floor. "I'm here to try and help, so just don't worry. Can you tell me when the dancing started?"

"It was a few hours ago," the women said wearily. "We got up to dance and as soon as we started, we couldn't stop. Our feet literally can't stop moving."

"Dreadful business, absolutely dreadful!" her dancing partner, a fat old man with grey hair chimed in.

Sophie ducked under the arms of a younger couple who had energy enough to execute a pirouette. "Did everyone get up and dance all at once or was it more gradual?"

"Hm? Well, I think- yes, I think a few people started and then a few more and then- well, I'm not really sure. Next thing we knew everyone was on the dance floor and we were having a very good time until we realized we couldn't stop dancing," the man said. He huffed and swung the lady around. "And now we're all ready to drop but we can't do anything about it."

"Probably just a charm then," Lettie said from beside Sophie. "Not a full out enchantment or they wouldn't even have noticed. Just something to be annoying."

"I wonder what this is about," Sophie muttered. "The last time we dealt with a fairy spell, Howl told me that it could become permanent, or fade out over time. You said it was just a charm?"

"Probably. I can't guarantee it, but it definitely doesn't look like an enchantment and from what Ben's told me about those-"

"Sophie!" A shout came from the door and Howl dashed in, looking out of breath and most untidy by his standards. He nearly crashed into three different couples and stopped short. "What's going on?"

Sophie ran up to him. "Howl, you've got to tell me right now. Does anything about this strike you as having a connection with what you did to the fairies? And if you dare hide anything, I'll turn all your hair dye into hair removing tonic. Did you do anything when you were with the fairies that could relate to this?"

Howl glanced around the room. "I danced with the fairy queen." Both Sophie and Lettie looked outraged and he took a step back. "It's required! The fairies are always dancing; turning her down would have been a breach of etiquette!"

"I'm sure," Lettie muttered.

Sophie glanced around the room. "So the fairies are always dancing. And you danced with the fairy queen. And it looks like…."

"They charmed the shoes of everyone in the room," Howl finished at the exact same time she did. "That's better than last time- this'll end at midnight with no one any the worse."

"I doubt that," Lettie said drily. "Midnight's three hours away and I think these people have been at it for at least that amount of time if not more."

Howl glanced around the room distractedly and Sophie grabbed him by the shoulder. "Did you bring any of the fairy dust?"

"I did, but do we have to use it here? You know I wanted to look at that and see what it could do for the spell of Shattering, Mending, and Transmutation…"

"Yes, we have to use it here! Throw it in the air or something!"

"That won't take off the charm, I have to cast the counter-charm while dancing."

"While dancing?" his wife repeated incredulously.

"There's a reason the fairies dance so much, it's where a lot of their charms get their power!"

"Then come on!" Sophie grabbed him round the waist and swung him into the swirling circle of suits and ball gowns. As they began to fall into the rhythm of the music, Howl fumbled in his cloak and somehow managed to get a handful of the sprinkling in his hand. As they spun around the wide periphery of the room, dipping and whirling in harmony, Howl scattered it around the dance floor, all the while whispering words that Sophie could not catch.

After a few minutes, the old couple to whom Sophie had spoken began to slow down. Out of the corner of her eye, Sophie saw them come to a halt and then stumble to the nearest sofa, where they sank down breathing heavily. Gradually more and more couples began to cease the dancing, some nearly tripping over one another as they realized they were no longer compelled to move. After some minutes only Howl and Sophie were on the dance floor, and as Lettie and the others watched, the whole room began to smile as they drew very close to each other.

"So tell me, what have you done now?" Sophie hissed, just before Howl spun her away with a flourish only to catch her close again. "Why can't we stop?"

"I couldn't get rid of the charm, just take it off everyone else in the room. It had to go somewhere, magic's not something that disappears just because you cancel the effects of it!"

"Oh really? So you and I are stuck dancing here till midnight?"

Howl smiled with even more charm than usual. "Do you mind?"

Despite herself, Sophie could not help but smile. "It's better than being stuck in the castle."

* * *

**Sorry this took so long... college hit me like a Loony Toons anvil. I'm going to try to wrap this up soon but can make no promises, since I already have an article due next week and papers looming behind that. Ah, academia.**

**Thanks so much to everyone reading, especially the brave souls who stick with it to the end. Those who review are extra-awesome (hint, hint XD)  
**


	10. Several Leaping Lords

_On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ten lords a leaping…_

"So you'd say a fairy definitely cast that charm at that ball."

Howl remained focused on the mirror, carefully smoothing down an invisible strand of stray hair. "Almost definitely. It would have to be a very powerful magician to get a charm like that to stick to that entire party of people and last till midnight."

"And we got the full force of it last night when you freed those party-goers," Sophie grumbled from the bed. Her feet were still sore from the hours of waltzing, tangoing, and step-dancing, and Howl had not helped by having more energy than she had had in the last hour. Rolling over on her side, she glared at Howl's immaculately clad shoulders which were hunched over the dresser. But the glare was tempered by a smile, since she had enjoyed the time away from the castle more than she cared to admit.

The wizard himself seemed completely oblivious to her glare. "So we did," he muttered vaguely.

Sophie closed her eyes and rolled over on her side. "Something's been bothering me. I know it's been a while since I've been in Kingsbury for an extended stay, but I'm sure I remember that house being shut down when I got lost in that area a few days ago."

"Was that when you were getting the fairy dust?"

"Yes. I ran into that same square, that same rich area, and I was completely lost. But when we went back there last night- I was sure that that house had been empty. It didn't make any sense."

The bedsprings creaked as Howl sat down at the foot of the bed. "Are you sure it wasn't another house altogether. You've always said you get lost in Kingsbury because all the houses look the same."

"I know," Sophie grumbled. "I know. But I'm almost sure I'm right about this one. I'll ask Lettie, assuming my jailer will let me out of the castle." She sat up and raised an eyebrow at Howl. "And if you answer that at all, I'll assume I can regard myself as a prisoner and then take measures to escape."

"Then I'll make no comment," he answered with a smile. "But Sophie, please- you are safer in the castle than you would be anywhere else."

"The longer I stay here, the castle won't be safe from me."

"Very true," Howl sighed. "I can't believe you actually cleared up the cobwebs."

"It's two days till Christmas! I'm sure you can find more spiders afterwards, but I refuse to have a Christmas with the castle cloaked in cobwebs!"

"It's unnatural!"

Sophie rolled her eyes. "What's unnatural is that you had them strung up all over the castle in the first place."

"I was letting them flourish the way nature intended!"

"And aren't we supposed to one step above that? Since we both happen to be human?"

"I've been called lower than some parts of the animal kingdom," Howl said reflectively. "Mostly by people I'd annoyed or beaten in a battle."

Sophie laughed and sat up. It was rather late in the morning and she wondered guiltily if Michael had been able to convince Calcifer to let him make breakfast. Rising, she threw on her robe and made her way to the main room to put the tea kettle on and make breakfast.

As she, Michael, and Howl sat down to the newly-made pancakes and bacon, Sophie cleared her throat. "I'm going to visit Lettie and see if she needs any help with getting things ready for Christmas, and I might do some shopping as well. Is there anything either of you need me to get while I'm out?"

Michael looked at her quickly and then ducked his head. Sophie held back a smile. "Is there something you wanted me to look for Martha?" she asked.

He nodded, looking somewhat ashamed. "I wanted to get her some jewelry, but I'm not really sure what she likes for that kind of thing, and- well, I want to surprise her, so do you know what she likes?"

"I can find something," Sophie said with assurance. "Howl?"

"Hmm? I have most everything, I think- though I'm rather low on fairy dust…"

Sophie shook her head with a grin. "Oh, really? What a shame. But I don't think that they sell that in Kingsbury."

"Which is why I need to get rid of these fairies who are after you… and me," Howl muttered. He rose with an absentminded air and went to the bookcase, running his fingers over the old volumes and muttering to himself all the while.

Sophie watched him for a moment. "If you decide to go after them today, be careful."

"Of course." He had taken down a book and did even glance up at her. "And if anything seems wrong or out of place, please don't rush into investigating."

"I won't _rush_ into it," Sophie replied with a smile. "But I probably will investigate."

"I was afraid of that."

When she eventually emerged onto the Kinsbury street, the sun was almost painfully bright and the wind was whistling through the streets with shocking coldness. She did get lost once on the way to Lettie's, but on the whole she did not mind too much, as she could see all the shops in their brightly lit holiday glory. There were a few shops which sold jewelry and other decorative items and she made a note to stop there to look for something for Martha after she visited Lettie.

Eventually she came to Lettie and Wizard Suliman's house. It was quite elegant-looking, though rather smaller than some of the other houses in the neighborhood, and Sophie had to wonder if the neighbors had had to experience Lettie's strong-minded ways. She could imagine her sister making more than a few of the stuffier ladies very uncomfortable and the thought made her smile a bit. She knocked and was very surprised to be greeted by a footman who showed rather less emotion than a stuffed fish. But Lettie was in the hall and was quick to greet her. "Sophie, it's good to see you! Are you fully recovered from last night?"

"Just about," Sophie replied and shrugged off her coat. "I came to see if you needed any help getting things ready for the holiday- we're spending it with Fanny so I don't have as much to do."

"I've got a few things cooking if you want to help with that."

They made their way to the kitchen and chatted idly about the Kingsbury bustle and how much worse it got as Christmas drew near. Eventually Sophie was able to turn the talk to parties and thus to the main question she had. "Lettie, that house where that ball took place- I seem to remember being in town recently and stumbling into that neighborhood. I could have sworn it was closed."

Lettie shook back her dark hair and began rolling out gingerbread dough. "How recently?"

"A couple days."

"A couple days?" Lettie repeated. "As in two days?"

"Yes," her sister replied, somewhat nettled. "And I know I get lost in Kingsbury a lot and I'm not absolutely sure but I almost am. And it's been bothering me. Why would there be a party there if the house was shut only a few days ago?"

"You don't know a lot about nobles here," Lettie laughed. "A lot of them are completely mad when it comes to a ball given by someone from 'good society' and would probably show up even if it was being held in a newly opened warehouse. Assuming the warehouse was refurbished, of course."

Sophie grinned. "It may not have been as much of a problem as I thought then. It was just odd. All the time we were there, I didn't see any sign of anyone hosting it or anyone actually in charge. Were there any servants that you remember? Any sign of ownership?"

Lettie shook her head slowly. "Now that I think about it- no. I don't remember seeing anyone like that. Do you think…"

"I'm not sure what I think. It was definitely a fairy charm, according to Howl, and though he hides some things, he's been pretty straightforward ever since he found out about the fairies coming after us." Sophie plunged her bare hands onto the cookie dough and began to cut out stars and Christmas trees. "But it's not really easy to understand why the fairies would throw a fake ball and give out those charms. If they want Howl, they aren't really going about it well-"

As she was talking the footman entered looking somewhat less stuffed than he had before. "Madam Suliman, there's a person outside all asking for Wizard Suliman."

"But he's with the King!" Lettie exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "Something to do with making sure the grounds are all secure for the revels- and that happens to be his job! She should know he doesn't hold commissions until after the holidays! He's put it out on the door!"

"She is adamant, Madam, that she must see him."

"Wonderful," Lettie groaned. "I'll try and find out what's the matter and if it's some silly holiday display she wants, she'll get a piece of my mind that'll last well into next year. Sophie, are you going to come?"

They hurried out into the hall, where a woman dressed in elegant clothing were standing with a disdainful air. Lettie strode forward and Sophie was impressed that the visitor did not cringe from the fire in her eyes. "For what need do you require Wizard Suliman?" Lettie asked with a very dangerous kind of politeness.

The woman fiddled with her muff and drew herself to her full height, a good five inches taller than Lettie "There's a shocking display of magic in the streets, Mrs. Suliman, and It Is Disturbing The Peace." She said the last words with such emphasis that there was no mistaking she had mentally capitalized them. "If this is some joke on the Royal Wizard's part-"

"My husband is the Royal Wizard," Lettie said through gritted teeth. "He doesn't spend his time fooling around with magic, he actually puts it to use. You're probably seeing people who've had too much in the taverns."

"_Mrs. Suliman!_ All of the Kingsbury high society men are leaping about the streets quite without control over their own actions! My poor husband, the very embodiment of dignity and decorous behavior-"

"With a wife like you, I'm sure his behavior's decorous," Lettie muttered.

The woman went on as though she had heard nothing, which she probably had not. "Is prancing about the streets like a performing pony! Summon the wizard this instant and tell him to do something about it!"

"Oh, heavens!" Lettie snapped. "I'll take a look at it, as will my sister," and she grabbed Sophie's arm. "We are _both_ qualified witches," she added very firmly in response to the woman's glare. "And we will investigate the problem and _then _see if we need the services of a wizard!"

She ran out the door without even bothering to get a coat, and Sophie was at her heels. Once they were in the streets, a strange sight met their eyes. A great many of the men were jumping, leaping, and twirling with gracefulness that belied the terrified looks on their faces. Many people were clapping and laughing, while family of those afflicted were following with cries of concern, or in the case of the woman who had come to Lettie, commanding the charmed nobles to cease their outrageous behavior.

Lettie and Sophie stared first at the chaos, then at each other. Lettie finally broke the silence. "This is something to do with those fairies, isn't it?"

"I think so. Hold on, I'll run get Howl." She took three steps and stopped short as a great rushing wind began to blow. It rattled all the buildings so much that Sophie was afraid some of them would fall. But the strange thing was that no one else seemed to notice it. It grew louder and stronger. Sophie's hair was whipping about her face, and as she reached up to hold it back, she realized with shock that leaves were caught in the red-gold locks. She spun around. Vines were crawling up every building and the street seemed to be fading and growing dim. She heard Lettie shouting, but her sister's voice seemed to be coming from a great distance away. Even as Sophie tried to run back towards her, the snowy street and the elegant buildings vanished altogether. She was completely alone in a strange wood.

Horrified and angry, she drew a deep breath to shout some kind of swear word and then froze. Slowly she let her eyes fall to her hands. She had taken off the ring Howl had given her when she had begun helping Lettie with the cookies. And then she had run out to deal with a charm that had been very likely worked by a fairy. It was fairly obvious now what had happened.

She took a deep breath, this time to calm herself and began to walk forward, her footsteps rustling on a thick carpet of leaves. The question now was how a person who had been stolen by fairies stole themselves back. One way or another, she was going to find out.

* * *

**Oh, Sophie. How will she deal with being stolen by fairies... and how will the fairies deal with her?  
**


	11. Magic in Music

_On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me eleven pipers piping…_

For what seemed ages, Sophie walked through the trees. They were tall, with spindly limbs and leaves of many different shades of green. The light that shone through the branches was a beautiful gold that was eerily bright. As she kept moving, a breeze began to blow, warm and gentle, that rustled the leaves and somehow seemed to make the sunlight and the trees shimmer. Sophie felt a longing to lie down and stare up at the trees, explore the wood and simply wander.

She shook herself abruptly when she realized she had been standing in a patch of sunlight for several minutes. Whatever the mood she was in, she could not necessarily trust it. There was no knowing what the fairies could do to a person, and though she was unfamiliar with fairy magic, she had a vague idea that they could steal and enchant mortals. Since they had already stolen her, she had no intention of allowing them to enchant her. She set her shoulders and began to stride briskly through the wood, hoping that staying in motion would keep her mind clear long enough to form a plan. After some minutes, the ground ahead of her formed a trail, and that the further down it she walked, the brighter the light grew and the thinner the trees became.

The path eventually became more defined. It was paved with white stones and the more Sophie walked, the less tangled the woods around her seemed. The tree trunks were now tall and straight and the leafy branches formed a green archway overhead. She slowed to try and get her bearings and froze as an unseen pipe began play. As the music rose higher and higher it was joined by more and more until there was a veritable chorus of unseen instruments. There was an air of wild merriness in the tune that stirred her blood, and she felt a wild longing to run off through the trees without thought for what might come of it. She dug her nails into the palms of her hands and waited till she had calmed a little to proceed.

Eventually the path took her to a wide clearing that was lit by many golden rays of light that slanted between the branches up above. In the center of the clearing was a wide space of grass and directly opposite where the path led, Sophie saw two thrones, one made of white wood and the other made of dark wood and covered in vines. The white throne was empty, but the other was occupied by someone she had never expected to see here. "You," she said, momentarily stunned.

The fairy nodded with a hint of a smile that was very unsettling. Sophie did not bother to bow or be polite; for one thing, it was difficult to feel deference when she had seen this fairy as a noble at the castle door frantically begging for help to make a party worthwhile. His black hair was shorter and wilder than it had been when he had been disguised as a noble, and his rich red shirt and gold cloak were eyesores against the bright green. As she assessed his appearance his smile grew wider. Sophie folded her arms and glared him in response. "So what was the point?" she asked sharply. "You came to the castle already. Why didn't you just steal me then?"

"I tried," he replied lazily. "Many times. The first time I wasn't ready, since I was in the shape of a robin and spying out your castle. Then I came to the door as a customer but you had some sort of ward set on you, which I wasn't expecting. I tried to get you out in the open by telling that apprentice of yours about the geese- and I have to admit I did enjoy the chaos of that, even if it didn't work out. It took me quite a while to get rid of the magic thing protecting you; it was much more difficult than I was expecting."

Sophie stared at him. "You were the robin back at the castle? And you fooled poor Michael and you pretended to be a customer- and I'll bet that carriage that almost ran me over in front of the palace was you too!"

He bowed with a whimsical smile that reminded her very much of the nobleman he had pretended to be. "But of course! And I was very close that time- unfortunately you ran too quickly."

"Why did you want to steal me at all?" Sophie snapped. "Whatever my idiot of a husband did, you can't use that as an excuse to just steal people away from their world! Send me back right now!"

The fairy raised an eyebrow and stood up. Sophie was surprised that he was a normal height, though it could easily be an appearance he used when dealing with humans. "Why would I do that?" he asked. "You aren't even bothering to be polite about it, and I will say that your husband was the one who started all this."

"I daresay the fairy queen helped a little," Sophie replied tartly.

The fairy's eyes darkened. "Are you saying my wife would have encouraged Howl's flirtations?"

Sophie swallowed, suddenly regretting her words very much indeed. Insulting a fairy was bad enough, she thought to herself, but to find that it was the king was even worse. "You- so you're…"

"Oberon, the fairy king," the fairy said smoothly. "And I do not take kindly to insults of any sort, Sophie Pendragon, especially from little human thieves who flirt with my queen while stealing!"

"Stealing what?" Sophie asked quickly. "What did Howl take?"

"Our fairy dust."

"Why do you steal a _person_ because of stolen _dust_?"

"It's a matter of pride! He came in here without a second thought, danced with the fairies, stole some dust for his magic and just ran off! Do you really think I could let a mortal walk in and out of my kingdom like that without doing something about it?"

"Yes!" Sophie shouted back. "You can't go kidnapping people because you can't keep your kingdom secure! That's not fair to anybody!"

"_I_ can't keep my kingdom secure? It's not my fault that the fairy kingdom connects to your world whenever someone-"

He clamped his mouth shut and Sophie tensed all over. If there was a connection back into their world, she might be able to get back. She absolutely had to find out what that might be. Though she had a feeling a straight question would do nothing to help her, she asked anyway. "Does what? It seems to me a fairy king should be able to keep better track of his own country."

"Country, yes. Magic? That's a bit too tall of an order even for me…" His voice trailed off and he spun away from Sophie to throw himself back on his throne. Sophie ignored him and tried to think. If magic was the connection between this world and her world, then she might be able to talk something into letting her get back. But she also recalled Howl's stricture that fairy magic was very difficult.

Closing her eyes, she tried to review everything she knew about the fairies' magic. She knew that there was always a time factor- a spell would either become permanent or melt away within a set time frame. So she had to find out how much time she had.

She turned back to the fairy king. "Did you change all the streets of Kingsbury into your kingdom? I could see why you'd have border problems then, though my advice for you then would be don't bite off more than you can chew."

"Of course not! I don't change whole cities- my magic's not nearly so crude. All it takes a charm- a link. And then the right person can find their way into the fairy world."

"Oh." Sophie's mind was racing now. If all that was needed for a connection to the fairy world was a charm, then it had to work in reverse; fairy magic made a connection back to her world. There had to be a way for her to use it to get back- and that was doubtless where the time of the spell came in. The link wouldn't last forever, of that she was sure.

She let the sunlight play over her hand, and the music of the unseen pipes was suddenly all around, wild and eerie. Closing her eyes, she felt her feet begin to move in a wilder variant of her and Howl's dance at the ball. The golden light in the clearing grew brighter and Oberon suddenly rose and caught her hand to join her in the dance.

Just as he did so, all the pieces suddenly fell into place and Sophie had to hold back a laugh. She was almost sure now how the magical connection between her world and the fairy one worked now. The trees, which had seemed almost ethereal before, were growing more solid with every passing second, and she could only guess that it meant the connection was failing. She had to be quick.

Twirling away from the king, she spun out into the middle of the clearing and pretended to stumble. Just as the fairy king caught her left hand, her right hand brushed through the grass and gathered up a handful of glittering dust.

She swung up and whirled away. The music was growing wilder and wilder, filling the air with melody. The trees seemed to have grown thick and close and she could no longer see the path. Taking a deep breath, she danced lightly around the edge of the forest, sprinkling the dust as she ran. "Come on," she whispered. "Show me the path- the trail from the charm the fairy cast in the Kingsbury streets. And then open that connection and let me out!"

The shimmering dust gathered itself in a shining mist that hovered just above the ground and then pointed in a straight line between two white birch trees. Sophie promptly abandoned all semblance of dancing and dashed off to follow it. The trail was closing and growing narrower as she ran along it; already the white paving stones had vanished. The music grew wilder and wilder and it was very hard not to go dancing off into the trees without care or thought. She no longer wondered that Howl had danced when he came here and was beginning instead to wonder how he had gotten out at all. She kept running. The trees were growing darker and vines covered their trunks. The bright golden glow seemed to have been left far behind, but far ahead of her there was a misty ring that was dissolving rapidly. She tried hard to sprint, but her whole body felt heavy and she was gasping for air. Whatever the time of the connection was, it seemed to be almost up.

Just the mist became nearly invisible, a figure suddenly appeared in the center of it, dim and shadowy. It raised its hands and the mist began to slowly grow more solid-looking. As Sophie ran up to it, it began to form a doorway of sorts. As she drew nearer, she thought she could see the outlines of buildings just through the arch. Putting on a burst of speed, she dashed into the gate and crashed hard into the figure who was standing there. The mist seemed to suddenly spread and leap out among the trees, swallowing them in a sheen of silver-grey. All traces of ivy and grass faded and disappeared, and last of all, the music of the pipes trailed away, still wild and lovely.

Sophie was suddenly aware that her hands were buried in snow and growing very cold. She then realized somewhat sheepishly that she was lying on top of the person she had knocked over and rolled away quickly, fumbling for an apology. Then she saw the very obviously dyed strawberry blond hair and a bright blue cape that looked rather the worse for wear, and immediately threw herself on top of him again. "Howl! How did you get into that wood and why did it take you so long? I almost got stuck in the fairy world forever and it would have been your fault!" Before he could say anything, she kissed him fiercely, her heart pounding as it sunk in that she might never have been able to do that again if she had been a second too late in her run to get out of the fairy land.

As soon as she pulled back he stood up and helped her to her feet. "It's good to see you haven't changed," he said with a smile that Sophie could not help but return. "I was afraid something might have happened." He took her arm in his and together they began to walk back to the castle entrance. Snow was falling out of the darkened sky and many lights shone cheerfully from the windows of the houses they passed. Sophie took a deep breath of the cold air, savoring the snow and the human-made lamps in the street. It felt so good to be back in a place she knew, with the person she knew better than anyone else.

But thinking of that person immediately reminded her that she had a few things to say him. "I almost got stuck in the fairy world," she said pointedly, but kept his hand clasped tightly in hers. "And it would have been all your fault. What would you have done if I hadn't gotten out?"

"My fault? You took off the ring I gave you, how is that my fault?"

"It's your fault they wanted to steal me in the first place! And how did you find out what happened?"

"Lettie ran and got me as soon as you vanished. All the people had stopped jumping around by the time I got there, but the magic still had to be there, so I looked for the trace of it and found the connection it made to the fairy world. Then I had to keep it open until you found it and got back out."

"What do you mean? You wouldn't come after me?"

"I tried! And I got hopelessly lost, the fairy wood in between their world and ours is always difficult and it took me hours to find the way back again! And it had almost faded and I had to put a spell on it to make sure it couldn't close before you came!"

"Wait," Sophie said, feeling bewildered. "You were in there for hours? I was only gone for an hour, if that!"

They reached the door of the shop that led to the castle and Howl leaned against it. "Time works differently for the fairies," he said tiredly. "You were gone for quite a while Sophie. It's midnight of Christmas Eve right now. I've given up trying to understand it. And I don't' know that I ever want to now that this seems to be over."

"Oh, I'm afraid it's not quite over," a new voice said airily from behind them.

Sophie and Howl both turned to see the fairy king standing in the middle of the deserted street. Howl immediately grabbed Sophie's hand, and she felt him press the ring onto her finger. "What do you want?" he demanded threateningly, and Sophie hid a smile; she could feel him shaking as he stood next to her.

The fairy king stepped forward with a swish of his bright gold cape. "You still owe me the tribute and the homage due to me for entering my land, wizard."

"You aren't having her," Howl snapped. "I'll grow holly bushes all over your kingdom if you ever try to take Sophie again."

"I'm sure you would," Oberon said drily. "I've seen you do it. And since I have no desire to have my kingdom withered by holly, I promise to not have Sophie in my kingdom; it would be tempting fate with the magic she's got. But you still entered my kingdom, and for that, you have to observe the courtesies."

Sophie took a step forward, outraged. "What? If courtesies are all you wanted, why would you keep trying steal me?"

"To get Howl's attention." A smile danced in his eyes as he surveyed her very closely. "Besides, it was amusing."

"Why, you twisting little-" Howl caught her arm and Sophie forced herself to take a deep breath. "All right," she said as calmly as possible. "What do you want for tribute?"

"Something precious," the king said lightly. "And no gold or treasure; we have more than enough of our own. I think- the best part of Sophie's magic would do, it's quite unique. I've never seen magic that relied on someone talking it into being."

"You can't take someone's magic away," Howl said sharply. "It's not possible."

"That's my price."

Sophie glared at the king for a moment. "I can't give it to you. But…" she smiled suddenly and sprinted into the castle to re-emerge a few seconds later staggering under the weight of the silver partridge. "I have this. Take a look, Oberon. It's alive, quite literally. It's also silver through and through. Probably the best magic I ever did."

"Oh, was it?" The king stared at the bird for a moment, then back at Sophie. "Your raw magic. Untutored at the time, as I recall when I listened in." Sophie felt torn between shuddering at the thought of the fairy spying on them and annoyance that he kept gloating about it. But she said nothing and waited. At last Oberon straightened up. "Yes, I think that would be acceptable. But now you have to pay me homage in some way, wizard."

"And what exactly would that consist of?" Howl asked rather sourly.

"Really, wizard? I'm sure you can come up with something- homage is a sign of reverence, respect for the person to whom you give the honor and it's hardly something to be tossed aside as a minor courtesy!"

Sophie glanced from Howl to the fairy king. It would take more than a simple bow or greeting to appease this complaint and she was not entirely sure what Oberon had in mind. All she knew for sure was that he needed more than a minor courtesy to appease his anger, and the last thing she wanted was to get caught up in a battle on Christmas Eve.

She took a deep breath. This was a gamble like none other she had taken and she hoped desperately she had guessed the fairy's mind correctly. She remembered the wild music, and though the melodies had been strange, there had been little malice in them. Though that was no guarantee, it was the only hope she had that her hunch was the right one. Looking the fairy directly in the eyes, she took the charmed ring Howl had given her off her finger and tossed it at Oberon's feet. "There," she said quietly. "There's an honor for you. The honor of my trusting you to keep your word that you won't steal me."

Howl grabbed her hand very tightly as the fairy king stooped to pick up the ring, his gold cape brushing the snow up like the fairy dust that lay in his kingdom. He straightened up and tossed the ring in the air, catching it lightly and easily. "Quite an honor indeed, Sophie. But you do know that fairies are renowned for tricks, don't you?"

Sophie's mouth felt dry. She said nothing, and neither did Howl.

For a while the fairy king stood there, his wild hair and bright clothes a strange sight in the softly falling snow. Then he scooped up a handful of snow and tossed it high into the air. "And my tricks here have come to an end. Though this will make quite a memory, Sophie Pendragon." Once again, he spun the ring in the air. The snow began to swirl around him, and there was a sound of rushing wind in which the faintest trace of playing pipes could be heard. Then the snow died down and the music vanished, leaving the street before Howl and Sophie as empty as it had been moments before.

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**If you want something like what I imagined the fairy music to be like, look up "Kingdom Dance" from the Tangled soundtrack. It's not quite what I had in mind, but it's close enough, especially towards the end.**

**One more chapter to go!  
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	12. An Unexpected Present

_On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me twelve drummers drumming…_

Snow drifted down outside the caste windows peacefully on Christmas Day. The fire was crackling and warm, and the main room was very bright and cheerful. Howl had charmed various candles to glow different colors, and they lent the place a festive air. Sophie was curled up in the armchair in front of the fire, half asleep. Christmas at Fanny's had been pleasant, but somewhat exhausting. The sheer number of people had been overwhelming and she had lost track of the names and faces of all the guests. But the morning had been pleasant, spent only with immediate family members, and she had appreciated the time spent with Martha, Fanny, Michael, and Howl. It was not until well into the afternoon that she and Howl decided to leave, and that mostly due to how loud the party had become.

Sitting up with a yawn, she fingered the package Fanny had slipped into her hand when she and Howl left the house to go back to the castle. There had still been many people all talking at the top of their voices, and Fanny had not had a chance to say a lengthy good-bye. But she had given Sophie a wink as she had given her the package. Now was probably as good a time as any to see what was in it. She carefully slid her fingers under the bright gold paper and set it aside before opening the small wooden box. She recognized the name it bore on the top- it was the name of a toy shop in Market Chipping whose slogan was: "Enchantment Without the Magic." Sophie had a feeling Fanny would have found it amusing, but she found herself confused when she saw what was in the box: a group of beautifully-made wooden band players, complete with drums and miniature uniforms. There was one small note in the box that read simply: _For next year_ in Fanny's handwriting. For a moment she was silent; then she remembered the wink and the smile and how Fanny had looked like she wanted to talk more, and all the pieces fell into the place. It seemed she could never keep secrets from Fanny.

She smiled all the more and Calcifer stirred lazily among the logs. "What's gotten you so happy?"

"It's Christmas. Even former stars must know that's a happy time of year."

"Not really, but I'll take your word for that. What I don't take is the implication that Christmas is the reason you're grinning the way you are."

Sophie laughed and did not answer. The fire demon's flames shot up a little higher. "So there is something else you're happy about? And you're not going to tell me?"

"You'll find out."

Calcifer seemed about to comment when Howl came in with two mugs of hot chocolate. He stared at the wrapping paper and package on Sophie's lap. "Is that what Fanny gave you when we left?" he asked confusedly. "Did she give you the wrong present? I know we left early, and she looked a bit rushed."

Sophie hastily shoved the note under the wrapping paper and saw Howl give her a strange look. She smiled and took the mug quickly. "Fanny told me they were for next year."

"Why would we need them next year? Are they a decoration?"

"No, I don't think so. I think we probably will need them next year, actually."

Howl stared blankly at her. "Why?"

She laughed. "You may want to sit down."

"Sit down?"

"I'm not sure you'll be able to stand after hearing this."

"Are you insinuating that I can't hear something about a box of toys without collapsing?"

"Well… yes, I'm almost certain of that."

Howl looked offended. "Really, Sophie. If I'm willing to chase after you into a fairy kingdom, then surely I can hear this."

"I'm not so sure."

"Just for that, I'll stay standing!" Howl threw back his head heroically. "Nothing you can say relating to a box of toys will make me show weakness."

Sophie giggled. "I'll give you one last chance to sit down, Howl."

He remained standing by the chair, and Sophie had the nigh-uncontrollable urge to laugh. It took her a great deal of effort to keep a straight face. She took a deep breath, surprised at just how overwhelmed by she suddenly felt. "Well, all right then. Stand if you please. In a way that's probably best- this chair's the only place to sit in the room, and it wouldn't look good if your pregnant wife had to give her chair to you."

There was a dead silence followed by the shattering sound of Howl's mug hitting the floor. Sophie laughed and then groaned. "Howl!"

He took notice of the drink that was now pooling around his feet. "You're- we're- this is actually going to happen? The baby, I mean?"

"Yes, Howl, I think it is." Sophie grinned and took a sip of the hot chocolate. "I think it is," she added more softly. "And I have to admit- I'm a little nervous about it. The baby, I mean."

He was quiet for several seconds before absently waving a hand to gather up the shards of mug. Sophie took another swallow of the hot chocolate as though it was some kind of elixir of life and looked up to see that Howl had perched himself on the arm of the chair. "It'll be fine," he said firmly, and then as though he'd broken a rule in sounding too sure of himself, he immediately adopted a vague air. "I wouldn't be nervous. You were able to take down a witch, save a fire demon, a prince, and two wizards-"

"Yes, but I had some help with that!" Sophie exclaimed agitatedly before he could go on. She put a hand to her head. "Sorry. It's just that I'm excited about this- and also really terrified."

Howl shrugged. "Well maybe that's why Fanny gave you this. To remind you that this time next year, there'll be something else at Christmas to make you smile." He took Sophie's free hand in his and gave one of his smiles that was all the more charming because it was genuine. "And I have to admit that I'll enjoy having a child to help take some of the supervision off my back. If it's a boy, you'll have to make sure he doesn't turn out anything like me."

Sophie laughed shakily. "That might be too hard even for me."

"You've successfully bullied a fire demon," Calcifer remarked innocently from the fire place. "I'm sure you can find a way to keep your child from turning out like Howl."

"Are you implying that turning out like me is a bad thing?" Howl said with a hurt air.

Sophie snorted. "You said it first! And anyway, one of you is bad enough."

She got up, still holding Howl's hand and they moved away from the fire as the light outside dimmed. As soon as they entered the passage, Howl lazily raised a hand and a shimmer flickered above their heads to rest and solidify above their bedroom door. Sophie glanced up at it just in time to see that it was mistletoe before Howl kissed her warmly. When he drew back, she saw that he was smiling. "Merry Christmas, Sophie."

"Merry Christmas, Howl."

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**Yes, that ending contained more cheese than your average Welsh Rabbit (the dish). And no, I do not care in the slightest. **

**Thanks so much to everyone who's read and reviewed this fic! It means quite a lot to see how many people read the story, and I hope that you all enjoyed it! And to the person for whom I wrote this- I am really sorry it took me so long. Hopefully it was worth the massive delay!  
**


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